Liz Cheney Calls Trump ‘a Domestic Threat That We Have Never Faced Before’ – The New York Times
Liz Cheney Calls Trump ‘a Domestic Threat That We Have Never Faced Before’ – The New York Times

“As the full picture is coming into view with the Jan. 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined,” Ms. Cheney said.

Republicans, she said at another point, “have to choose,” because they “cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.”

It was a striking commentary from the daughter of a Republican former vice president, Dick Cheney, against the current leader of the Republican Party, even as he is out of office. Ms. Cheney had been a supporter of Mr. Trump’s until shortly after the 2020 election, when she criticized him for his baseless fraud allegations.

In May 2021, she said she regretted voting for him the previous year.

Ms. Cheney, who was forced out of her leadership post as the No. 3 Republican in the House last year as she repeatedly excoriated Mr. Trump for the events of Jan. 6, has become a fairly isolated presence within a party that remains heavily in thrall of the former president.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/us/politics/liz-cheney-speech-trump.html

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Jackson to take Supreme Court oath Thurs., minutes after Breyer retires – The Washington Post
Jackson to take Supreme Court oath Thurs., minutes after Breyer retires – The Washington Post

Jackson will be only the third African American justice, following Thurgood Marshall, who died in 1993, and Clarence Thomas, who is the court’s longest-serving justice. With Breyer’s retirement, the 74-year-old Thomas will also become the court’s oldest justice.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/29/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-oath-swearing-in/

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Woman pushing a baby stroller shot dead in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police say – CNN
Woman pushing a baby stroller shot dead in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police say – CNN

By Rob Frehse and Aya Elamroussi, CNN

Updated 2:56 AM ET, Thu June 30, 2022

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/30/us/new-york-city-woman-shot-pushing-stroller/index.html

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Jan 6 hearings – latest: Trump’s WH counsel Pat Cipollone subpoenaed as key witness ‘stands by’ testimony – The Independent
Jan 6 hearings – latest: Trump’s WH counsel Pat Cipollone subpoenaed as key witness ‘stands by’ testimony – The Independent

Republican US representative Liz Cheney delivered a fiery speech to call out Donald Trump and GOP leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Wednesday night, receiving thunderous applause from the audience.

Ms Cheney, who is the vice-chair of the House committee investigating the 6 January riots, said Mr Trump’s efforts have turned out to be “more chilling and more threatening” than first imagined as the full picture is emerging.

“Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution,” she said, to a round of applause.

She said Americans are confronting a “domestic threat” like never before and Mr Trump attempted to unravel the foundations of the constitutional Republic.

She praised former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and others who are testifying against Mr Trump for their “bravery and her patriotism”.

In the first action since Ms Hutchinson’s explosive testimony, the panel subpoenaed Trump’s White House counsel Pat Cipollone, whose resistance to Mr Trump’s false claims has made him a long-sought witness.

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Liz Cheney likens Trump to ‘domestic threat’ in Ronald Reagan Library speech

Liz Cheney called Donald Trump a “domestic threat” of the kind the US has never faced before in her speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday night.

“We are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before — and that is a former President who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional Republic,” said Ms Cheney. “And he is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man.”

She began the speech by saying: “My fellow Americans, we stand at the edge of an abyss, and we must pull back.”

“As the full picture is coming into view with the January 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined,” Ms Cheney said.

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Obama 2012 campaign manager says Jan 6 hearings are ‘way past Watergate’

Speaking on MSNBC on Wednesday, 2012 Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said that “the January 6 hearings have been incredible television. I think they’re way past Watergate. I think they’re doing really big harm to the President and his party with those swing voters”.

“Half of independent voters think the President did something wrong. You’re seeing Republicans sort of walk away from the president this morning … This kind of civil war inside the Republican Party continues,” he added.

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‘Of course’: Anita Hill says Ginni Thomas should speak to the Jan 6 Committee

Lawyer Anita Hill, who testified in 1991 that Justice Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her, said on MSNBC on Wednesday that his wife Ginni Thomas should be “compelled” to speak to the January 6 committee.

“Of course I think she should speak to the committee,” Ms Hill said on Andrea Mitchell Reports. “I also think that every other individual who they have identified should be compelled to speak … or have to answer for it under whatever legal protections the committee has.”

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Michael Flynn taking the fifth is ‘really chilling,’ former Obama official says

Michael Flynn, the retired three-star general who served as Donald Trump’s first National Security Advisor, used the fifth amendment several times to avoid answering questions from the January 6 Select committee.

He avoided answering if he believes in the peaceful transfer of power.

“It’s really chilling because these are the most basic questions that you could ask somebody about our democracy … I think it shows the depth of the radicalization of aspects of the Republican Party,” Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor in the Obama administration, said on MSNBC on Wednesday.

Concerning Tuesday’s witness, Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson, Mr Rhodes said: “There are very few people in this country who are better positioned to know what happened on January 6 than Cassidy Hutchinson … She’s beyond a credible witness.”

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Ratings show Fox News viewers tuning out Jan 6 hearings

Fox News Channel is airing the Jan. 6 committee hearings when they occur in daytime hours and a striking number of the network’s viewers have made clear they’d rather be doing something else.

During two daytime hearings last week, Fox averaged 727,000 viewers, the Nielsen company said. That compares to the 3.09 million who watched the hearings on MSNBC and the 2.21 million tuned in to CNN.

It completely flips the typical viewing pattern for the news networks. During weekdays when the hearings are not taking place, Fox News Channel routinely has more viewers than the other two networks combined, Nielsen said.

Last Thursday, Fox had 1.33 million viewers for the 2 p.m. Eastern hour before the hearing started — slightly below its second quarter average but on par for early summer, when fewer people are watching TV.

After the hearing started, Fox’s audience’s sank to 747,000 for the 3 p.m. Eastern hour and even lower, to 718,000, at 4 p.m. Fox cut away from the hearing at 5 p.m. to show its popular panel program, “The Five,” and fans immediately rewarded them: viewership shot up to 2.76 million people, Nielsen said.

The apparent lack of interest explains why the frequently Trump-friendly network stuck with its regular lineup during the committee’s only prime-time hearing, while ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC all showed the Washington proceedings. “The Five” has also been cable television’s most-watched show, on average, for nine months.

ABC won the week in prime time, averaging 3.6 million viewers. CBS had 3 million, NBC had 2.5 million, Fox had 1.6 million, Univision had 1.1 million, Ion Television had 1.04 million and Telemundo had 990,000 viewers.

Fox News Channel led cable networks with an average viewership of 2.17 million in prime time. MSNBC had 1.41 million, ESPN had 1.21 million, HGTV had 938,000 and Hallmark had 777,000.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race with an average of 6.6 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.1 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 4.5 million.

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Trump ‘would do whatever it took for him to stay in power’, DC police officer says

Appearing on MSNBC on Wednesday, DC Police Officer Daniel Hodges spoke about the January 6 hearings.

“Seeing images of that day and footage always makes my blood pressure shoot up, but … the more evidence is out there the better, because people really need to see the truth of what happened,” he said on Andrea Mitchell Reports.

He said Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony “demonstrates how” Donald Trump “doesn’t really care about anything other than himself. And he would do whatever it took for him to stay in power”.

“I have hope that people in positions of power will be held accountable … The Department of Justice has been active, we’ve seen a little bit of that … and I’m hoping it comes to some fruition down the line,” he added.

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No one from Trump White House disputes allegation former president knew supporters were armed

Speaking on MSNBC on Wednesday, Washington Post Deputy National Editor Philip Rucker said, “We’ve not heard anybody from the White House or former President Trump himself dispute her characterization of what he said in that moment, which is an acknowledgement that he knew his supporters had guns”.

“I couldn’t think of a more damning day for Donald Trump than yesterday,” Politico’s Eugene Daniels added on Andrea Mitchell Reports.

DC Police Officer Daniel Hodges said: “He did knowingly and with great malice … send a mob of violent delusional people to become terrorists and attack the US Capitol, and attack law enforcement, members of Congress, the VP, congressional staffers, all the support staff.”

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Stephen Breyer will retire this week, paving way for Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in as Supreme Court justice

In a letter dated 29 June to President Joe Biden, Justice Breyer said his retirement from active service, after nearly 30 years on the bench, will be effective at noon on Thursday after justices deliver final opinions before a summer recess.

Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by the president and confirmed in the US Senate earlier this year, will be formally sworn in as the nation’s 116th associate justice, the first Black woman and first former public defender to serve on the high court.

“It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law,” Justice Breyer wrote.

On Thursday, justices are expected to issue opinions in to high-profile cases – Biden v Texas, on the so-called “Remain in Mexico” measure, and West Virginia v Environmental Protection Agency, which could determine how or if the federal government can regular carbon emissions.

Read more:

Stephen Breyer will retire this week, paving way for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Judge Jackson will replace Breyer following this year’s controversial term with the new conservative-majority court

Source Article from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-secret-service-jan-6-committee-surprise-hearing-b2111686.html

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4 people have been charged in the Texas semitruck smuggling operation that left 53 migrants dead – CNN
4 people have been charged in the Texas semitruck smuggling operation that left 53 migrants dead – CNN

Four people have been arrested and charged after 53 migrants died in what one Homeland Security Investigations agent called the deadliest human smuggling incident in US history.

The migrants were found in sweltering conditions inside a semitruck in San Antonio on Monday after an employee at a nearby building heard cries for help. More than a dozen people were found alive inside the tractor-trailer and hospitalized for heat-related conditions, according to San Antonio authorities.

Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who is originally from Brownsville but resides in Pasadena, Texas, was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges related to alleged involvement in human smuggling resulting in death, according to a US Department of Justice news release. Zamorano has a lengthy criminal record dating back to the 1990s, public records show.

On a Texas road called ‘the mouth of the wolf,’ a semitruck packed with migrants was abandoned in the sweltering heat

Christian Martinez, 28, who was arrested on Tuesday in Palestine, Texas, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants resulting in death, the DOJ said.

If convicted, both Zamorano and Martinez could face up to life in prison or could face the death penalty. CNN has been unable to determine if Zamorano or Martinez has an attorney.

When police arrived on scene Monday, they discovered multiple people inside the tractor-trailer, some on the ground and in nearby brush, “many of them deceased and some of them incapacitated,” according to the DOJ release.

“SAPD officers were led to the location of an individual, later identified as Zamorano, who was observed hiding in the brush after attempting to abscond. Zamorano was detained by SAPD officers,” the release said.

Laredo Sector Border Patrol also provided Homeland Security Investigations agents with surveillance footage that showed the tractor-trailer crossing through an immigration checkpoint, according to the release. The driver could be seen wearing a black shirt with stripes and a hat.

“HSI agents confirmed Zamorano matched the individual from the surveillance footage and was wearing the same clothing,” the release read.

An investigation revealed that communications occurred between Zamorano and Martinez concerning the smuggling event, according to the release.

Migrants are taking more risks to reach the US

Two other individuals, Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, have been charged with “possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the United States,” according to criminal complaints filed Monday. Authorities were able to locate the men after responding to the semi-truck incident, according to the affidavit.

The attorney for D’Luna-Mendez said he does not comment on pending cases. CNN has reached out to the D’Luna-Bilbao’s attorney and has not heard back.

No water or working AC inside trailer, fire chief said

The refrigerated semitractor-trailer had no visible working air conditioning unit and there was no sign of water inside, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters Monday. It’s not clear how long people inside the truck had been dead, he said.

High temperatures Monday in the San Antonio area ranged from the high 90s to low 100s, according to the National Weather Service.

“None of these people were able to extricate themselves out of the truck,” Hood said. “So they were still in there, awaiting help, when we arrived … meaning just being too weak – weakened state – to actually get out and help themselves.”

Biden calls deaths of migrants in San Antonio ‘horrifying and heartbreaking,’ denounces ‘political grandstanding around tragedy’

Craig Larrabee, Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio acting special agent in charge, described it as “the worst human-smuggling event in the United States.”

“In the past, smuggling organizations were mom and pop. Now they are organized and tied in with the cartels. So you have a criminal organization who has no regard for the safety of the migrants. They are treated like commodities rather than people,” Larrabee told CNN in a phone interview.

The discovery came as US federal authorities launched what they described as an “unprecedented” operation to disrupt human smuggling networks amid an influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border.

Business owners in the area where the trailer was found told CNN they were in shock.

“They were human beings, it was terrible,” said Israel Martinez, 68, co-owner of USA Auto Parts. “We (migrants) come to this country for a better life and yesterday reminded many of us that sadly, some of us achieve it but many others don’t do it.”

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/us/san-antonio-migrant-truck-deaths-charges-filed/index.html

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Liz Cheney says US is ‘confronting a domestic threat’ in Donald Trump – CNN
Liz Cheney says US is ‘confronting a domestic threat’ in Donald Trump – CNN

GOP Rep. Liz Cheney delivered a searing rebuke of former President Donald Trump and GOP leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Wednesday night, recounting some of the damning details that the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, has uncovered thus far and praising the bravery of witnesses – particularly the young female aides – who have come forward to aid its investigation.

“We are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before – and that is a former President who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional Republic,” said Cheney, the vice chair of the House committee. “And he is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man.”

The congresswoman’s blistering critique of Trump comes as the former President is reportedly weighing the launch of another presidential bid, potentially before the midterms.

Cheney, a Wyoming Republican facing a Trump-backed primary challenger later this summer, acknowledged that it would certainly be an “easier path” to just look away. But she also said everyone has a responsibility to confront the threat to democracy that is posed by Trump.

“No party and no people and no nation can defend and perpetuate a constitutional republic if they accept a leader who’s gone to war with the rule of law, with the democratic process, or with a peaceful transition of power, with the Constitution itself,” she said.

First on CNN: Cassidy Hutchinson stands by her testimony amid pushback

Cheney continued, saying that “the full picture is coming into view” of Trump’s actions thanks to the January 6 committee’s nearly year-long investigation. “It has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined,” she said.

Speaking directly to her own party, Cheney said it might be “painful for Republicans to accept,” but said that members of the GOP have to make a choice.

“Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution,” she said, to a round of applause.

Shifting into a more hopeful tone, Cheney said she has been encouraged by some of what she has encountered over the past year, including those who have been willing to publicly testify in front of the select committee.

“Especially the young women – young women who seem instinctively to understand the peril of this moment for our democracy. And young women who know that it will be up to them to save it,” Cheney said. “And I have been incredibly moved by the young women that I have met and that have come forward to testify in the January 6 committee.”

Cheney specifically praised former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who one day earlier delivered shocking testimony before the select committee.

“Her superiors – men many years older – a number of them are hiding behind executive privilege, anonymity and intimidation. But her bravery and her patriotism yesterday were awesome to behold,” Cheney said. “Little girls all across this great nation are seeing what it really means to love this country and what it really means to be a patriot.”

“I want to speak to every young girl watching tonight,” the congresswoman concluded. “The power is yours, and so is the responsibility. … These days, for the most part, men are running the world – and it is really not going that well.”

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/politics/liz-cheney-donald-trump-reagan-library/index.html

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Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 127 of the invasion – The Guardian
Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 127 of the invasion – The Guardian

  • Britain will also commit an extra 1,000 troops and one of its two new aircraft carriers to the defence of Nato’s eastern flank. The forces will be earmarked for the defence of Estonia, where Britain already has about 1,700 personnel deployed, but they will be based in the UK, ready to fly out to defend the Baltic country if deemed necessary.

    • Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/30/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-127-of-the-invasion

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    Gun rights group fires back at California AG’s reported leak of firearm owners data: ‘He should resign’ – Fox News
    Gun rights group fires back at California AG’s reported leak of firearm owners data: ‘He should resign’ – Fox News
    Video

    WATCH: Will gun control measures affect midterm voting? Americans weigh in

    The office of California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta released the personal information of thousands of California gun owners and concealed carry permit holders to the public this week, and Second Amendment activists see it as a major breach of privacy.

    Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, told Fox News Wednesday that the release of information was either negligent or potentially criminal.

    “We believe that AG Rob Bonta is either massively incompetent, incredibly negligent, or willing to criminally leak information that he does not have the authority to leak,” Paredes said.

    “This is so egregious that he should resign. He has placed tens of thousands of abiding citizens in California in harms way. That is not excusable with an ‘I’m sorry.'”

    SUPREME COURT GUN DECISION SHOOTS DOWN NY RULE THAT SET HIGH BAR FOR CONCEALED CARRY LICENSE

    The Democratic attorney general, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, announced in a press release Monday that the new portal was created to “improve transparency and information sharing for firearms-related data.”

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta announces that the state is appealing a decision by a federal judge to overturn a ban on assault weapons during a news conference at Zuckerberg General Hospital in San Francisco, Thursday, June 10, 2021.
    (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group via AP)

    In Monday’s press release, the state’s DOJ claimed they sought to protect “the personal identifying information in the data the Department collects and maintains,” however, large amounts of personal information on gun owners were released.

    The leak was first reported by gun news outlet The Reload Tuesday, just days after the Supreme Court’s consequential Second Amendment ruling.

    The information, taken from the state’s database of concealed carry permit holders, included the thousands of gun owners full name, date of birth, home address, race, when their concealed carry permit was issued, and what type of permit it was. The Reload reportedly found in the LA County database that around 420 reserve officers and 244 judges were also among those who had their information leaked Monday.

    CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ‘FAILED’ CITIZENS WITH SOFT-ON-CRIME STANCE, PRIMARY CHALLENGER SAYS

    A protester holds signs calling for an end to gun violence in front of the Supreme Court on June 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. The court is expected to announce a series of high-profile decisions this month.  
    (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

    The information was posted in the California Department of Justice’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal, a website that is now “temporarily unavailable.”

    The California Attorney Generals Office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment regarding the data leak. Legal action could potentially be taken against the state and those involved, as a result of the shocking breach.

    A spokesperson from the AG’s office told Newsweek, “We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard. Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”

    Paredes said his organization is working “to figure out what legal matters we can take, but unless the AG is willing to send people who can protect those who have had their data breached, there is not much else they can do.”

    The private information has since been taken down but raises major concern as the midterm elections approach.

    Supreme Court guns ruling affirms Second Amendment rights.
    (iStock)

    In the primary election earlier this month, incumbent Bonta advanced to represent his party this November, alongside GOP candidate Nathan Hochman.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    It is unknown whether the leak was an intentional strike or simply an accident from the California DOJ’s office, after last week’s SCOTUS opinion sparked major controversy across the country.

    The Supreme Court decided to strike down the New York gun law that put unconstitutional restrictions on who qualified for a concealed carry permit, ultimately making it more accessible for civilians to carry a weapon for self defense.

    Aubrie Spady is a college associate for Fox News Digital.

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gun-rights-group-california-ags-reported-leak-firearm-owners-data-he-should-resign

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    Woman Is Fatally Shot While Pushing Baby in Stroller on Upper East Side – The New York Times
    Woman Is Fatally Shot While Pushing Baby in Stroller on Upper East Side – The New York Times

    Ms. McGraw said she was there because she “got a call,” but declined to elaborate. Although the authorities said only that the circumstances surrounding the shooting were under investigation, she speculated that domestic abuse might be involved.

    “You don’t just randomly shoot a woman with a small child point blank in the head,” Ms. McGraw said. “That’s rage.”

    Just up Lexington Avenue from where the shooting occurred, Sophia Monegro paused while lugging a cart carrying a teal laundry bag into her apartment building across from the Samuel Seabury Playground.

    Ms. Monegro, 28, said she had moved to the neighborhood a year ago and was not shocked. “It’s the Upper East Side, but it’s New York City, so there’s always crime,” she said.

    “It’s hard to raise a child in the city,” she added.

    Farther up the avenue, near East 96th Street, Brice Peyre, 58, was smoking a cigarette while watching the commotion unfold. He said he had lived in the same building on East 96th Street since 1991.

    “This really is literally striking home,” Mr. Peyre said. “It’s right within the zone.”

    He described the neighborhood as fairly safe and in more than three decades on the Upper East Side he could recall only two other fatal shootings in the area that attracted significant public attention.

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/nyregion/upper-east-side-woman-shot-nyc.html

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    Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone subpoenaed by Jan. 6 committee – ABC News
    Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone subpoenaed by Jan. 6 committee – ABC News

    Donald Trump’s former White House counsel Pat Cipollone was subpoenaed Wednesday for a deposition by the House’s Jan. 6 committee — and his team is now engaging on the ultimate scope of the order for future testimony, sources say.

    “The Select Committee’s investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded,” the Jan. 6 committee’s chair and vice-chair, Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson and Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney, said in a statement.

    Cipollone is evaluating the subpoena and his team is involved with the committee on the parameters surrounding an eventual closed-door deposition, sources close to him told ABC News.

    There is an expectation that he and the committee will reach an agreement on the terms by the requested deposition date of July 6, though sources emphasize the fluid nature of the talks.

    Sources said that among the topics for testimony about which Cipollone and the committee are negotiating: the actions taken by former top Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark to use the powers of the DOJ to attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election; what Cipollone did the day of Jan. 6, 2021, excluding conversations he had directly with former President Trump; interactions he was present for or had with former Trump lawyer John Eastman; and interactions he was present for or had with members of Congress post-2020 election.

    The information shared with the committee could be impacted by a number of factors, sources familiar with the deliberations said. That includes whether Trump’s presence in any of the past meetings could result in potential claims of executive privilege.

    Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin met with committee investigators for an informal interview in April. Cipollone and Philbin engaged on these topics during that previous meeting with committee investigators.

    The new subpoena comes one day after Cipollone was repeatedly mentioned during the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top aide to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

    Hutchinson told the committee during a Tuesday hearing that on the morning of Jan. 6, Cipollone was adamant that Trump shouldn’t accompany his supporters to the Capitol after addressing them at the Ellipse near the White House earlier that day.

    “We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen,” she recalled Cipollone telling her at the time.

    A lawyer familiar with Cipollone’s deliberations told ABC News earlier Wednesday, in response to the committee’s announcement: “Of course a subpoena was necessary before the former White House counsel could even consider transcribed testimony before the committee.”

    “Now that a subpoena has been issued, it’ll be evaluated as to matters of privilege that might be appropriate,” the lawyer said.

    The committee wrote in a letter to Cipollone along with his subpoena that they “continued to obtain evidence about which you are uniquely positioned to testify; however, you have declined to cooperate with us further.”

    Cipollone was one of the few aides who was with then-President Trump in the West Wing on Jan. 6. ABC News has reported that in the days following the attack on the Capitol, Cipollone advised Trump that Trump could potentially face civil liability in connection with his role encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol.

    Both Cipollone and Philbin, his deputy, were part of a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting where Trump insisted on replacing then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Clark, a Trump loyalist who had vowed to use the DOJ to investigate the election.

    Cipollone and Philbin made it clear to Trump that they would resign if Clark were installed, according to a Senate committee report released last year that detailed instances where Trump and his allies sought to use the DOJ to overturn the election.

    Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-white-house-counsel-pat-cipollone-subpoenaed-jan/story?id=85965985

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    First on CNN: Cassidy Hutchinson stands by her testimony amid pushback – CNN
    First on CNN: Cassidy Hutchinson stands by her testimony amid pushback – CNN

    By Jake Tapper and Annie Grayer, CNN

    Updated 6:49 PM ET, Wed June 29, 2022

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/politics/cassidy-hutchinson-statement/index.html

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    January 6 committee subpoenas former Trump counsel Pat Cipollone – The Guardian US
    January 6 committee subpoenas former Trump counsel Pat Cipollone – The Guardian US

    The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack issued a subpoena on Wednesday to former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone, compelling him to testify about at least three parts of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

    The subpoena marked a dramatic escalation for the panel and showed its resolve in seeking to obtain inside information about how the former president sought to return himself to office from the unique perspective of the White House counsel’s office.

    “Mr Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded,” the chairman of the select committee, Bennie Thompson, said in a statement accompanying the subpoena.

    “The committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations. Concerns Mr Cipollone has about the prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony.”

    Cipollone was a key witness to some of Trump’s most brazen schemes to overturn the 2020 election results, which, the select committee has said in its hearings, was part of a sprawling and potentially unlawful multi-pronged strategy that culminated in the Capitol attack.

    More details to come

    Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/29/january-6-committee-subpoena-pat-cipollone

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    NATO backs military aid for ‘heroic’ Ukraine, Russia steps up attacks – Reuters.com
    NATO backs military aid for ‘heroic’ Ukraine, Russia steps up attacks – Reuters.com

    MADRID/KYIV, June 29 (Reuters) – NATO on Wednesday branded Russia the biggest “direct threat” to Western security after its invasion of Ukraine and agreed plans to modernise Kyiv’s beleaguered armed forces, saying it stood fully behind Ukrainians’ “heroic defence of their country”.

    At a summit dominated by the invasion and the geopolitical upheaval it has caused, NATO also invited Sweden and Finland to join and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack.

    In reaction, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. read more

    Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow’s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO.

    U.S. President Joe Biden announced more land, sea and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine.

    These included a permanent army headquarters with accompanying battalion in Poland – the first full-time U.S. deployment on NATO’s eastern fringes. read more

    “President Putin’s war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

    “NATO has responded with strength and unity,” he said.

    ‘FIGHTING EVERYWHERE’

    As the 30 national NATO leaders were meeting in Madrid, Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine, including missile strikes and shelling on the southern Mykolaiv region close to front lines and the Black Sea.

    The mayor of Mykolaiv city said a Russian missile had killed at least five people in a residential building there, while Moscow said its forces had hit what it called a training base for foreign mercenaries in the region.

    The governor of eastern Luhansk province reported “fighting everywhere” in a battle around the hilltop city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle as they gradually advance in a campaign to conquer all of Ukraine’s industrialised eastern Donbas region on behalf of separatist proxies. Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.

    Regional Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television that Russian attacks killed one civilian and wounded eight on Wednesday.

    Also in Donetsk, a video clip aired on Russia’s RIA state news agency showed captured former U.S. soldier Alexander Drueke saying he did not fire a single shot while fighting for the Ukrainian side, in a plea for leniency from separatist authorities who will determine his fate. read more

    “My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day,” said Drueke, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, referring to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. “I didn’t fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don’t receive.”

    President Volodymyr Zelenskiy once again told NATO that Ukrainian forces needed more weapons and money, and faster, to erode Russia’s huge edge in artillery and missile firepower, and said Moscow’s ambitions did not stop at Ukraine.

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    A view of the explosion as a Russian missile strike hits a shopping mall amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Kremenchuk, in Poltava region, Ukraine in this still image taken from handout CCTV footage released June 28, 2022. CCTV via Instagram @zelenskiy_official/Handout via REUTERS

    The top U.S. intelligence official Avril Haines said on Wednesday the most likely near term scenario is a grinding conflict in which Moscow makes only incremental gains, but no breakthrough on its goal of taking most of Ukraine.

    The Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24 has destroyed cities, killed thousands and sent millions fleeing. Russia says it is pursuing a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab.

    ‘FULL SOLIDARITY’

    In a nod to the precipitous deterioration in relations with Russia since the invasion, a NATO communique called Russia the “most significant and direct threat to the allies’ security”, having previously classified it as a “strategic partner”.

    NATO issued a new Strategic Concept document, its first since 2010, that said a “strong independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area”.

    To that end, NATO agreed a long-term financial and military aid package to modernise Ukraine’s largely Soviet-era military.

    “We stand in full solidarity with the government and the people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their country,” the communique said.

    Stoltenberg said NATO had agreed to put 300,000 troops on high readiness from 2023, up from 40,000 now, under a new force model to protect an area stretching from the Baltic to the Black seas. read more

    Zelenskiy, in a video link-up with the summit, said Ukraine needed $5 billion per month for its defence and protection.

    “This is not a war being waged by Russia against only Ukraine. This is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe – for what the future world order will be like,” he said.

    NATO’s invitation to Sweden and Finland to join the alliance marks one of the most momentous shifts in European security in decades as Helsinki and Stockholm drop a tradition of neutrality in response to Russia’s invasion. read more

    Russia’s stepped-up missile attacks in Ukraine and its forces were making slow but relentless progress.

    In Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said eight Russian missiles had struck the city, including an apartment block. Photographs showed smoke billowing from a four-storey building with its upper floor partly destroyed.

    Russia’s defence ministry said its forces carried out strikes on a military training base for “foreign mercenaries” near Mykolaiv and also hit ammunition fuel storage. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

    A river port and ship-building centre just off the Black Sea, Mykolaiv has been a bastion against Russian efforts to push westward towards Ukraine’s main port of Odesa.

    Oleksander Vilkul, governor of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, said Russian shelling had increased there too.

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dozens-missing-after-strike-ukraine-mall-russia-presses-attacks-east-2022-06-29/

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    Opinion | What the tragedy in San Antonio reveals about migration from Mexico – The Washington Post
    Opinion | What the tragedy in San Antonio reveals about migration from Mexico – The Washington Post

    During the 2018 presidential campaign and the early days of his presidency, López Obrador specifically promised that by the end of his administration in 2024, migration from Mexico would decrease, if not disappear. “People will be working where they were born, close to their relatives, their environment, with its customs and culture,” he wrote in his campaign book. “No one, out of necessity, to mitigate his hunger and his poverty, will be forced to leave their homeland.”

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/29/san-antonio-migrant-deaths-trailer-mexico-amlo/

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    Democrats Weigh Paring Biden Tax Hike to Win Over Manchin – Bloomberg
    Democrats Weigh Paring Biden Tax Hike to Win Over Manchin – Bloomberg

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    To continue, please click the box below to let us know you’re not a robot.

    Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-29/senate-democrats-weigh-paring-biden-tax-hike-to-win-over-manchin

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    Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down Thursday – NBC News
    Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down Thursday – NBC News
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    Some big-city district attorneys vow not to prosecute abortion cases, setting up legal clashes in red states – CNN
    Some big-city district attorneys vow not to prosecute abortion cases, setting up legal clashes in red states – CNN

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/us/district-attorneys-abortion-prosecutions-invs/index.html

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    R. Kelly Is Sentenced to 30 Years on Sex Trafficking Charges: Live Updates – The New York Times
    R. Kelly Is Sentenced to 30 Years on Sex Trafficking Charges: Live Updates – The New York Times

    The R&B artist Aaliyah

    Mr. Kelly met Aaliyah in 1992 at her family home in Michigan, and produced her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.”

    By the time she was 13, he had begun to sexually abuse her, prosecutors said. In 1994, Mr. Kelly illegally married her, believing that she may have been pregnant and seeking to avoid prosecution. The two had a 10-minute ceremony in a Sheraton hotel room in the Chicago area. Their marriage was later annulled.

    Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, died in 2001 in a plane crash at 22.

    Jerhonda Pace, the first accuser to testify

    Ms. Pace took the stand on the first two days of the trial, becoming the first accuser to ever testify against Mr. Kelly in court. She was also one of the earliest women to go public with her accusations in a 2017 BuzzFeed article that set off a round of public outrage against the singer.

    She testified that Mr. Kelly had sex with her in 2009, when she was 16 and he was in his 40s.

    Angela, a backup singer who said she was in high school when the abuse began

    As the first victim to make a statement at the sentencing hearing, a woman who gave her name only as Angela, said previously that she met Mr. Kelly around 1991, when she was between 14 and 15.

    Mr. Kelly began to have sex with her while she was underage and a student in high school, she testified during the trial last year. She also recounted how he often pressured her and several other backup performers to have sex.

    Angela was also the first accuser to testify that she had seen Mr. Kelly and Aaliyah engaged in sexual acts.

    During the sentencing hearing, Angela stood at a lectern as she looked directly at Mr. Kelly and spoke in an unwavering voice. She called Mr. Kelly a Pied Piper who lured children with his money and celebrity.

    “With every addition of a new victim, you grew in wickedness,” she said. “You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.”

    Today “we reclaim our names,” she said. “We are no longer the preyed-upon individuals we once were.”

    Stephanie, who was also underage when she was abused

    A woman who took the stand during the trial giving only her first name, Stephanie, said that she approached Mr. Kelly at a Nike store in 1999, when she was 17, to ask him for an audition for a friend who aspired to be a singer.

    Mr. Kelly agreed, in return for sexual favors, she said. The next six months were “the lowest time of my life,” Stephanie told jurors.

    At the sentencing hearing, Stephanie, who spoke fifth and who was referred to as Jane Doe No. 2, described in detail how Mr. Kelly would return sweaty from basketball games with his friends before making her perform oral sex on him.

    “I felt special, because someone who was special to the world was interested in me,” she said, adding, “I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life.”

    A woman who testified under a pseudonym

    The woman, who gave some of the most graphic testimony of physical and sexual abuse at trial, had initially backed Mr. Kelly in a high-profile interview with Gayle King of “CBS This Morning” in 2019.

    But she told jurors the singer often instructed her to rehearse answers to potential questions from reporters or the public, providing her with the “proper” responses — even if they were false.

    Faith, who said the singer did not disclose a sexually transmitted infection

    Faith, who was the sixth woman to speak at the sentencing hearing, said during the trial that she began having sex with Mr. Kelly in 2017, when she was 19. But the encounters turned violent at times, she said at the time, and on one occasion, Mr. Kelly brought her into a room with a gun, grabbed her neck and directed her to perform a sex act on him.

    A short time after another sexual encounter, she was diagnosed with herpes. Faith said Mr. Kelly never told her he had the incurable disease. “I said, ‘Are you going to use a condom?,’” she recalled asking Mr. Kelly during their first sexual encounter. “He said, ‘We don’t need a condom.’”

    During the hearing, Faith appeared with her father at her side. “I hope you forgive yourself,” she said as she cried. “I forgive myself.”

    Sonja, who said she was imprisoned and raped

    Sonja, who also spoke at the sentencing hearing, was a 22-year-old radio intern when she met Mr. Kelly outside a mall in Salt Lake City, and he invited her to come to Chicago for an interview in 2003, according to earlier testimony.

    But when she arrived, she previously said, Mr. Kelly locked her in a room in his studio for days. She had no food, but was eventually brought something to eat. Then, after she took several bites, she began feeling drowsy, she said. She told jurors she later woke up to find her underwear draped over the couch and Mr. Kelly pulling up his pants.

    During the sentencing hearing, she described how Kelly would have people watch and follow her over the years. “I was scared for my life,” she said.

    Sonja also emailed a statement to the court that she did not wish to read in full. But before leaving the lectern, she added: “I hope and I pray to God that we can all heal.”

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/29/nyregion/-r-kelly-sentencing-news

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    Jan 6 hearing – live: Trump grabbed steering wheel and attacked Secret Service agent, aide testifies – The Independent
    Jan 6 hearing – live: Trump grabbed steering wheel and attacked Secret Service agent, aide testifies – The Independent

    Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’s top aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the committee investigating the 6 January attacks at the Capitol in a surprise hearing on Tuesday.

    She told the committee that the president said, “I don’t f***ing care that they have weapons,” when he was warned his supporters were heavily armed in the moments before he encouraged them to march on the Capitol.

    Once the president finished speaking to throngs of supporters on January 6, he reportedly became “irate” when his security staff didn’t want him to make an unplanned visit to the Capitol, so much so that he tried to grab the wheel of the presidential limousine and allegedly attacked a Secret Service agent, according to Ms Hutchinson.

    Eventually, according to Ms Hutchinson’s testimony, as rioters breached the Capitol, the president nonchalantly said vice-president Mike Pence “deserves” to have extremists chanting that he should be hung for refusing to overturn the 2020 election.

    The former president attacked the testimony, claiming he barely knew the “sick” Ms Hutchinson.

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    Top House Republican calls Jan 6 investigation ‘witch hunt’ after his former intern provides explosive testimony

    Despite the large number of Republicans testifying in front of the January 6 committee, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise called the panel “partisan” and its investigation a “witch hunt” while appearing on Fox & friends on Wednesday morning.

    The witness during Tuesday’s hearing, the former top aide to Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows – Cassidy Hutchinson – previously served as an intern in the office of Mr Scalise.

    1656517244

    Trump-backed candidate who called Roe v Wade ruling a ‘victory for white life’ wins Illinois primary

    Representative Mary Miller, who was elected in 2020, defeated representative Rodney Davis in a member-on-member primary after redistricting by Democrats in the state legislature led to the two facing off.

    Ms Miller ran an ad that painted Mr Davis as a Republican in Name Only–known as a RINO–and in an advertisement hit him for supporting so-called “red flag” gun laws which allow for authorities to obtain court orders to prevent people who pose a danger to themselves and others from obtaining firearms.

    In the past, Mr Davis had voted for such legislation but was not among the 14 Republicans who voted to pass gun legislation that President Joe Biden signed late last week.

    Similarly, Ms Miller criticised Mr Davis–who was ranking member of the House Administration Committee-for voting for the “January 6 witch hunt commission.” Mr Davis voted for a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 riot, but not to create the select committee that is currently investigating the Capitol riot.

    Read more:

    Trump-backed candidate who called Roe ruling ‘victory for white life’ wins primary

    Representative Mary Miller beats representative Rodney Davis in a member-on-member primary

    1656516044

    ‘Coup memo’ author John Eastman abandons challenge to Jan 6 subpoena for his call log data

    Lawyer John Eastman has dropped his legal challenge to the January 6 committee’s subpoena requesting his call log data.

    The author of the memo outlining how then-Vice President Mike Pence could singlehandedly overturn the 2020 election on January 6 2021 went to court in December to stop Verizon from handing over three months of information.

    In a separate and mostly unsuccessful challenge, Mr Eastman also tried to stop the committee from getting information from his work email.

    In court on Tuesday, Mr Eastman said that he was dropping his challenge because the panel wasn’t seeking specific communication information, according to CNN.

    “Plaintiff brought this lawsuit primarily to protect the content of his communications, many of which are privileged. The Congressional Defendants represented in their motion to dismiss that they were not seeking the content of any of Plaintiff’s communications via the subpoena they had issued to Defendant Verizon,” Mr Eastman’s lawyers wrote in a legal filing.

    1656514844

    Jamie Raskin calls on former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone to testify before Jan 6 committee

    Panel member Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday that Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows “began to cooperate … and then suddenly pulled the plug on his participation, apparently when Donald Trump was angry”.

    Mr Raskin called on Mr Meadows and Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone to testify before the January 6 committee.

    1656513900

    Cassidy Hutchinson’s life will ‘never be the same,’ says ex-Trump official

    Ms Hutchinson, a former White House aide, provided first-hand knowledge of what she saw and heard in the run-up to the US capitol riots at a surprise hearing on Tuesday of the select committee probing the insurrection.

    Olivia Troy, who had served as the homeland security adviser to former vice president Mike Pence, said Ms Hutchinson’s life will never be the same again after her revelations about Mr Trump’s behaviour during the events of the 6 January insurrection.

    “I am grateful for people like Cassidy who are out there telling the truth about what the reality was in the days and aftermath of the election,” Ms Troy told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday.

    She said it is “frustrating” and anguishing at times to watch people continue “to enable such a dangerous individual who has proven to be dangerous time and time again”.

    “And look, Cassidy, her life will be forever changed. My life will never be the same,” she said, adding that they had “stood up for our country” and spoke the truth.

    She said the people testifying against Mr Trump before the House select committee have been receiving threats or are being bullied or intimidated.

    “People will say, you know, oh there is nothing heroic about that – you worked in the Trump administration. Well, you are hearing about the intimidation of witnesses, you are hearing about the bullying.

    Read more:

    Cassidy Hutchinson’s life will ‘never be the same,’ says ex-Trump official

    ‘There is no doubt there are going to be threats on Cassidy. I am worried about her safety’

    1656512700

    People really want to know what Trump was eating that was covered in ketchup

    Testifying before the committee investigating the 6 January attacks on the Capitol on Tuesday, Ms Hutchinson said Mr Trump was so enraged by his then-attorney general Bill Barr knocking down claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election that he threw his lunch against the wall.

    A White House valet “articulated that the president was extremely angry at the attorney general’s AP [Associated Press] interview and had thrown his lunch against the wall” in response, she said.

    “So I grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off of the wall to help the valet out.”

    The attorney general’s public assertion that the results of the presidential elections were bereft of fraud was a major blow to Mr Trump’s efforts to convince the general public that his victory was “stolen” by Joe Biden.

    Soon after the testimony, netizens took to social media to wonder about the components of Mr Trump’s lunch.

    “What the heck was he eating that he needed ketchup for it,” asked Twitter user Leah.

    Read more:

    People really want to know what Trump was eating that was covered in ketchup

    ‘Wonder what was on the menu that day? Pretty sure it was traitor tots’

    1656511500

    Monica Lewinsky skewers Trump on Twitter over claims he grabbed limo steering wheel in bid to join riot

    Mr Trump wanted to go to the Capitol so badly that he attempted to grab the steering wheel of “The Beast” after being told he was going back to the White House instead, she testified. He also grabbed at the clavicle of a Secret Service agent, she added.

    Tony Ornato, then White House deputy chief of staff, told Ms Hutchinson that Robert Engel, the Secret Service agent in charge on 6 January 2021, had repeatedly told Mr Trump on their way back to the White House after his rally speech that it was not safe to go to the Capitol.

    According to Ms Hutchinson, Mr Ornato recounted Mr Trump screaming: “I’m the f***ing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.”

    The agent had to physically restrain Mr Trump, who was sitting in the back seat, and he used his free hand to lunge toward the neck of Mr Engel, Ms Hutchinson testified.

    “Mr Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel,” she added, while admitting that she did not witness the episode.

    Mr Trump made 12 posts on his Truth social media site denying the allegations.

    Read more:

    Monica Lewinsky skewers Trump over Jan 6 claims

    Uses ‘distracted boyfriend’ meme to remind followers about Trump’s comments on groping women

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    Lawyer who left Jan. 6 panel seeking Missouri US Senate seat

    John F. Wood announced in a prepared statement that he’s beginning the effort to get on the November general election ballot for retiring GOP Sen. Roy Blunt’s seat.

    The announcement comes as some Republican leaders express concern that former Gov. Eric Greitens might prevail in a 21-candidate field for the Republican nomination for the seat in the Aug. 2 primary, then lose in November because of the sex and campaign finance scandals that pushed him from office in 2018. Greitens also faces allegations of physical abuse from his ex-wife, which he has denied. With the Senate evenly divided, the GOP can’t afford to lose what would otherwise be a safe seat.

    Those concerns intensified last week when Facebook removed a Greitens campaign video that shows him brandishing a shotgun and declaring that he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only.

    “I am conservative and a life-long Republican. But the primaries for both parties have become a race to the bottom,” Wood said in a prepared statement. “This was evident a few days ago when the leading candidate for one of the parties released a campaign advertisement glorifying violence against his political enemies, from his own party no less. Missouri deserves better. Missouri needs another option.”

    Read more:

    Lawyer who left Jan. 6 panel seeking Missouri US Senate seat

    An attorney who held key roles in the George W

    Source Article from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-secret-service-jan-6-committee-surprise-hearing-b2111686.html

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    NATO deal between Turkey, Sweden and Finland brings home wins for Erdogan — and a possible F-16 breakthrough – CNBC
    NATO deal between Turkey, Sweden and Finland brings home wins for Erdogan — and a possible F-16 breakthrough – CNBC

    NATO officials on Tuesday celebrated Turkey’s lifting of its veto against Sweden and Finland joining the transatlantic alliance, a move that brought the Nordic states one step closer to full NATO membership four months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

    Turkey’s initial opposition came as a major stumbling block and a surprise to many, amid growing urgency among Western nations to push back against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Finland and Sweden took a historic decision to end their nonaligned positions and join the alliance in the face of Russia’s aggression, but new countries joining NATO requires unanimous approval from all existing member states.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was staunch in his demands of Sweden and Finland, which centered on their relationships with groups that Turkey’s government deems a terrorist threat.

    What is a big win for NATO is also a victory for Erdogan, analysts say, and one that the president needed in order to shore up domestic support as his economy flounders and Turks struggle with inflation that’s exceeded 70%.

    “Win all around, apart from Putin who is the big loser in all this,” Timothy Ash, an emerging markets strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, wrote in a note Wednesday. “Good decision by Erdogan. He takes some political capital into elections.”

    “He negotiated hard, right up to the last minute, and got real wins with assurances” on security issues and likely on more military equipment from the U.S., Ash wrote. “He had his call with Biden and will get his one-on-one with Biden at Madrid. He comes back in from the cold with the West.”

    Turkey ‘got what it wanted’

    The breakthrough with Turkey followed four hours of talks and weeks of deliberations and debate, culminating in a trilateral agreement between Turkey, Sweden and Finland. The agreement involved the Nordic countries lifting arms embargoes they had previously imposed on Turkey, toughening their laws against Kurdish militant activists that Ankara deems to be terrorists, and addressing Turkish extradition requests for suspected Kurdish fighters.

    Turkey is home to 14 million Kurds, one of the largest ethnic groups in the world without a homeland. Their population of 30 million is spread across Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria as well as in immigrant diasporas around the world. Kurds have faced decades of persecution throughout Turkey’s modern history.

    One major Kurdish separatist group, called the PKK, or the Kurdish Workers’ Party, has been essentially at war with the Turkish state since the 1980s, engaging in violent tactics that have triggered bloody responses and resulted in more than 40,000 deaths.

    Turkey, Sweden and Finland all classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. But Erdogan accused the two Nordic states of harboring and supporting PKK fighters, which those countries deny. But Sweden in particular does support and send aid to other Kurdish groups in Syria that Turkey’s government does not differentiate from the PKK.

    For Erdogan, a guarantee of better cooperation on this issue and demonstrated respect for its security needs was priority number one.

    Turkey “got what it wanted” from the deal with Sweden and Finland penned Tuesday night, the Turkish president’s office said in a statement. That meant “full cooperation with Turkey in the fight against the PKK and its affiliates,” including a PKK offshoot in Syria called the YPG, which had been supported by Western countries including the U.S. in the fight against ISIS.

    Stockholm and Helsinki also pledged “not to impose embargo restrictions in the field of defense industry” on Turkey and to take “concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals,” according to the statement.

    An F-16 deal in the works?

    Erdogan will also get a one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden during the NATO summit in Madrid, in what many suspect was another sweetener to the deal. He’s expected to push for a U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which the Biden administration said was an issue separate from the NATO deal.

    It’s not clear whether the F-16 sale will go through, but many observers expect it to do so as a gesture of unity following Erdogan’s acceptance of the new NATO applicants. The U.S. in 2017 kicked Turkey out of its F-35 program after it purchased Russia’s S-400 missile defense system.

    “F-16 deal surely has to be done — let’s hope the U.S. Congress does not put a spanner in the works,” Ash wrote. Congress is typically required to approve all U.S. arms sales.

    Ultimately, Erdogan will need to see actions rather than words to feel like he got a good deal.

    “The most important is to wait and see what will be the implementation of the commitments on the ground,” Hakki Akil, a former Turkish ambassador who served in the Middle East and Europe, told CNBC. “Especially Sweden may face some internal policy problems,” he said, because of political pressure from influential Kurdish groups in Sweden.

    “We can say that this agreement is success for President Erdogan, but the internal political impact or gain in the country might be limited because of the economic situation in the country,” he added.

    Turkey’s presidential election is in June 2023, and a lot can happen between now and then. But by gaining some concessions from the West and proving he can deploy leverage to his advantage, Erdogan can return to Turkey with something to show for his efforts.

    Still, the economic crisis hitting the country of 84 million — whose currency has lost half its value in the last year — may ultimately play a bigger role.

    “Erdogan has again shown his pragmatism, avoiding a crisis, taking some political capital … which he will hope to deploy domestically in elections,” Ash wrote. “But the election outcome is still mega uncertain.”

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/29/nato-deal-between-turkey-sweden-and-finland-brings-wins-for-erdogan.html

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    On a Texas road called ‘the mouth of the wolf,’ a semitruck packed with migrants was abandoned in the sweltering heat – CNN
    On a Texas road called ‘the mouth of the wolf,’ a semitruck packed with migrants was abandoned in the sweltering heat – CNN

    San Antonio (CNN)A distant cry led a worker Monday evening to a tractor-trailer abandoned on a desolate country road under the blazing Texas sun on the outskirts of the city.

              CNN’s Rosa Flores, Rosalina Nieves, Amir Vera, Joe Sutton, Amanda Musa, Travis Caldwell, Carolyn Sung, Michelle Watson, Karol Suarez, Kevin Liptak, Jason Hanna, Sharif Paget, Jen Deaton, Amanda Jackson and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

      Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/us/san-antonio-migrant-truck-deaths/index.html

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